Ready to enter the arena? “The Hunger Games” to return to theaters ahead of prequel release
A train back to Panem awaits.
The Hunger Games will return to theaters for a special two-night engagement in October in celebration of the upcoming release of Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the sequel centered on a young Coriolanus Snow out Nov. 17.
Lionsgate has teamed up with Fathom Events to host the screenings on Sunday, Oct. 15 and Wednesday, Oct. 18, both at 7 p.m. local time. Tickets can be purchased on the Fathom Events website or at participating theater box offices.
Based on Suzanne Collins' book trilogy, 2012's Gary Ross-directed The Hunger Games follows District 12 tributes Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) as they're thrust into the arena for the annual Hunger Games, a televised spectacle wherein two children from each of the nation of Panem's 12 districts are forced to fight to the death as punishment for a past uprising between the districts and the Capitol, governed by tyrannical President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland).
Everett Collection Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson in 'The Hunger Games'
The star-studded cast also includes Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, and, along with Lawrence and Hutcherson, fellow newcomers at the time Willow Shields, Amandla Stenberg, Alexander Ludwig, and Isabelle Fuhrman. The dystopian adventure film is followed by sequels Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part 1, and Mockingjay Part 2, which also boasted an ensemble cast that included Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, Jeffrey Wright, Mahershala Ali, and Sam Claflin, among others.
"There's no better way to whet the appetite for The Hunger Games prequel than with the original Hunger Games," Kevin Grayson, Lionsgate's president of domestic distribution, said in a statement. "We're thrilled to be teaming with Fathom Events to give fans the opportunity to see The Hunger Games in theaters once again."
Adapted from Collins' prequel of the same name, Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes follows an 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) during his final year at the Academy, the Capitol's elite secondary school, and his time as a mentor to District 12 female tribute Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) during the 10th annual Hunger Games. The prequel is helmed by franchise director Francis Lawrence (Catching Fire, both Mockingjay movies) and also stars Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman, and Hunter Schafer.
Watch the trailer for the prequel above.
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